First Look

Historic Austin bar reveals brand-new look — here's a sneak peek

Over the past 145 years, 1308 E. Fourth St. has worn many hats: grocery store, restaurant, saloon, speakeasy, live music venue. In honor of the big anniversary, the Scoot Inn is debuting a new look — and we have a peek.

"It was time to make a change. Our neighbors have been telling us for years that they'd like more of a place in the community to bring both their friends and family to relax and enjoy each other's company. Keeping that in mind, we wanted to keep the soul of Scoot but also update inside and out so everyone felt comfortable," says owner Doug Guller, founder and CEO of ATX Brands.

The entrepreneur says revitalizing a space that is 145 years old requires a delicate balance of making much-needed updates and preserving its history.

"We worked with the great team from DesignTrait to help us achieve that balance. We curated furniture and fixtures from antique stores and garage sales, etc. over the last few years and made sure that everything on the property was purposefully chaotic. We've built a history wall that helps tell the story of Scoot and how it all began in 1871. We'll be adding to it over the years, but we're off to a good start," says Guller.

The interior of Scoot Inn has been rebranded as Ivy's Room, named after former owners Hattie and Aubrey "Scoot" Ivy. Gone is the stage: The sultry lounge now features a piano, plush chairs, and an eight-track player. Other new additions include a full-service bar, redone restrooms, more outdoor seating, and new yard games.

"I really feel that the neighborhood will love what we've done. Ivy's Room inside is beautiful and relaxing while the outside backyard is perfect for larger groups and stretching your legs," says Guller.

When Scoot Inn isn't bringing in top musical talent for shows, the venue will be hosting more events. Expect visits from local food trucks, live piano tunes in Ivy's Room Wednesday through Sunday, and DJ performances outside on Friday and Saturday.

Part of the makeover includes expanded hours. The Scoot Inn will be open Monday through Friday from 4 pm to 2 am and Saturday and Sunday from 2 pm to 2 am.

An opening celebration takes place Thursday, September 22, at 4 pm.

The Scoot Inn's interior has been rebranded as Ivy's Room.

The Scoot Inn venue bar East Austin renovations 2016 Ivy's Room

Photo by David Brendan Hall

The Scoot Inn's interior has been rebranded as Ivy's Room.

Whoops

Michelin goofs on a few restaurants honored in first Texas guide

Kau Ba/Facebook

Houston's Kau Ba has been removed from the Michelin Guide.

Texans' reactions to the first Michelin Guide in the state have ranged from glowing to unimpressed, but a few notable mix-ups are more concrete than differences in taste. The November 11 ceremony honored more than 100 restaurants across the state, but at least two were in error. In Dallas the guide confused two restaurants with each other, and in Houston one of them had closed.

Starting in Dallas: The Guide's release announcing the list of restaurants who'd won awards included The Charles, an award-winning Italian restaurant in Dallas' Design District, as one of 57 restaurants that earned a "Recommended" rating.

The Charles is a surely deserving restaurant that opened in 2018, the first concept from acclaimed food & beverage group Duro Hospitality, which has since gone on to open other restaurants such as El Carlos Elegante, Sister, and Cafe Duro.

But the Guide got the wrong Charles: The real recipient was Mister Charles, a sibling Duro Hospitality restaurant that opened at 3219 Knox St. in early 2024.

The Charles specializes in Italian and Texas-inspired dishes.

Mister Charles features French and Italian-influenced dishes.

It wasn't just an incorrect name; it listed the accompanying (incorrect) address.

A spokesperson for Michelin Guide verified that Mister Charles was the winner and said that the listing of The Charles was a mistake.

“This was an internal error caused by our geolocation process. The problem will be corrected in the most expeditious manner,” the spokesperson said. The Guide website has since updated the list and replaced The Charles with Mister Charles.

Having a difference of opinion about a critic's choices is one thing — but having an error of this magnitude is something else entirely.

And blaming "geolocation" as the source of the error is a curious excuse. Geolocation refers to the ability to track the whereabouts of an electronic device using GPS, cell phone towers, WiFi access points or a combination of these.

The Houston mix-up was also disappointing, but only involved one restaurant: In a press release issued Thursday, November 14, the Guide announced that it had removed Montrose Vietnamese restaurant Kau Ba from the list of Bib Gourmand recipients.

The reason: "Upon further investigation, our team has discovered the restaurant has been permanently closed since our Inspection team's visits occurred," the statement reads.

As has been widely noted in local media, Kau Ba closed earlier this month. The restaurant’s Instagram account now belongs to Alora, which is described as “a fresh Peruvian-Vietnamese fusion concept inspired by travels to Saigon.” It is expected to open soon.

Open since 2018, Kau Ba served an innovative take on Vietnamese fare created by Nikki Tran. The restaurant built on the notoriety Tran had achieved after being featured in two Netflix series: Somebody Feed Phil and Ugly Delicious. It earned considerable acclaim, including a spot in the Houston Chronicle’s top 100 restaurants as recently as 2023 and a nomination for Best Neighborhood Restaurant in the 2021 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

The restaurant went through a number of iterations during its tenure. For three-and-a-half years, Tran partnered with Aya Sushi owners Minette Corpuz and Bruce Kish to oversee operations, but they parted ways in February 2023.

In an email sent to Houston Public Media, Tran expressed regret over Michelin's decision.

“But we understand and respect Michelin’s decision to remove Kau Ba from its selection,” Tran said to HPM. “Exercising an abundance of caution from a legal position, I am not able currently to share further details of our situation but I do hope to follow up soon with more information.”

“Until then, on behalf of the entire Kau Ba team, we want to thank the entire culinary community for the recognition and support,” Tran added. “Kau Ba is proud of the dishes we created and look forward to sharing very soon what’s next.”

Thankfully in Austin, things seem to be going okay. The capital city swept the competition with seven stars (one more than Houston now that the change has been made), and two green stars for sustainability — in fact, the only green stars in the state.

Austin also had four of the first-ever barbecue restaurants to be awarded stars. Houston also had one.

Austin's winning restaurants were Barley Swine, Craft Omakase, Hestia, Olamaie, InterStellar BBQ, John Bates, La Barbecue, Alison Clem, and LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue.

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